nysepost.com

Home form in final stretch key to West Ham survival, says Moyes

Mar 11 2018

West Ham now sit in 14th place on 30 points just three clear of the Premier League drop zone and were dealt a huge blow earlier this week when key defender Winston Reid was ruled out for the rest of the season after picking up a nasty knee injury at Swansea last Saturday.

West Ham have recorded consecutive 4-1 defeats and find themselves still in the midst of a relegation battle.

They could also face sanctions from the Football Association after fans invaded the pitch in the second half - one of them tackled by Noble after Burnley's opener, scored by Ashley Barnes.

Joint-owners David Gold and David Sullivan, whose decision to uproot the club from its old Upton Park ground to the former Olympic Stadium is behind the anger, are understood to have left their seats for their own safety.

"I've said it all along [of Hart], he's been good". I'm a West Ham fan and I've always protected the club. "I know I'm out on the pitch, under scrutiny, but if someone approaches me I will protect myself".

What happened after that, though, has no civilised place anywhere, never mind a football stadium - and the Hammers will surely pay a high price for what happened.

"We are footballers and we are targets but we have got to protect ourselves". It seemed today that the fans had had enough.

Palace showed in that match that they still have the fight and, in my opinion, one of the better managers in the bottom half of the table. The Hammers will be desperate for a reaction to recent results in front of their own fans but if they fail to start the game well, the crowd could quickly turn on the home team.

"The atmosphere was frightful". Sean Dyche has now guided his side to the fabled and of 40 points and will look to build on the confidence which returned to his players throughout last Saturday afternoon.

Zabaleta called on his West Ham teammates to get themselves out of their predicament and said that they can not afford any more mishaps. They are a true, honest and passionate bunch of people. He could have a big part to play in keeping West Ham in the Premier League as well.

West Ham will be concerned about any punishment meted out by the authorities, and Noble said supporters should encourage the team because their reaction was self-defeating. "We were fine, they were just voicing their frustration". After conceding 54 goals in 29 games, David Moyes' side now have the worst defensive record in the league.